As your self-proclaimed “push-up king” of Mount Laurel NJ, I have some thoughts on the subject of push-ups…
The push-up is one of the foundations of strength in the martial arts.
Push-ups are one of the most used body-weight strength exercises I use when I train AND when I teach martial arts! Whether I’m working with kids, adults, or pro-level athletes.
What I love about push-ups is that they are easy to learn and do, can be done anywhere and at anytime, and are highly effective for building upper body strength and endurance. However…
…however, in my work with kids, I am finding that fewer and fewer boys and girls are able to do push-ups or any other body-weight exercises!
With the rapid decline in youth activity, we martial arts instructors need to realize two things when doing calisthenics with kids:
#1. Our youths’ strength-to-weight ratios are on the decline simply because they move less and eat more. They have more mass (READ: FAT!) than their muscle can deal with.
#2. Many exercises that used to be considered part of every day activity for our youth, like push-ups and pull-ups, must now be modified and regressed in order to “teach” kids how to do them.
Body-weight calisthenics like push-ups are important for a variety of reasons in regards to strength development. Push-ups not only aid in strengthening the chest, shoulders, and triceps, they facilitate other important postural aspects of strength as well. Merely holding a proper push-up position is important for the deep core muscles as well as the hips, and shoulders. This is one of the reasons I don’t believe in “girl push-ups” unless the girl (or boy) has a lower back stability problem.
Yes, boys generally are stronger than girls in the upper body, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be “allowed” to do standard push-ups.
As a karate teacher, these facts simply mean I will have to spend a little more time on educating and helping our students develop and progress with push-ups before I check off “push-ups” on their “completed” list.
As a karate teacher, I am helping my students develop physical intelligence.
As in education, certain pre-dispositions should be addressed, not ignored or avoided, through effective teaching methods and strategies.
As a martial arts educator, I have been successful in teaching students of all levels how to do push-ups correctly and effectively. This helps lay a strong foundation of strength and stability for their journey to black belt.
If you find yourself challenged with trying to get your child to do proper push-ups, below is an effective progression that will lead them to success.
See below for a video demonstration of these exercises.
1. Bear crawls: For individuals with extremely poor anterior chain strength who can’t even hold a push-up position, bear crawls are a great starting point. The child moves with their hands and feet on the ground. There is very little focus on technique here. The focus is to get the body to start distributing strength throughout the anterior chain (shoulders, chest, trunk, hip, etc). Try to go for extended periods of 30 seconds to a minute. Make it fun! :)
2. Standing plank: Once your child is able to perform bear crawls for extended periods of time (60 seconds+), they can usually move onto a standing plank. This is the set-up for a push-up. Back flat, pelvis (hips) neutral, legs straight, glutes tight, shoulders over hands, hands engaged with the ground, head in front of fingers, scapula (back of shoulders) neutral. You can put their feet against a wall to help line up their body. Encourage your child to hold this position for 40-60 seconds.
3. Reverse push-ups (eccentric) to stand-up: Progressions up to now have been focused on general anterior chain strength. Once this has reached a level of proficiency, the actual “push-up” skill can be taught. Have your child get into a perfect push-up position and slowly lower themselves until their chest touches the ground, maintaining proper technique and posture the entire time. Once they reach the ground, they scramble up and stand to their feet. The eccentric movement is doable and aids in building the strength and stability needed to perform a proper push-up. Scrambling to stand up to their feet helps build a concentric upper body push pattern.
4. Assisted push-ups: Have your child go into a proper push-up position. Loop a resistance band or cord under their chest. Stand over your child and hold the handles of the cord. Have them perform push-ups with assistance from the band. Progress by using a lighter band, or not facilitating as much assistance.
Use the progression exercises above with your children to get them all doing proper, effective push-ups.
Help your child become the next push-up King or Queen! Motivate, educate, and inspire them to become strong, healthy and happy black belts!
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If you need inspiration and help, enroll your child in our martial arts program! Come in and try a free karate class! Try it out and see the difference it makes in your child’s life! Bring them in to get strong and have loads of fun! ???? Interested in trying it out? Contact me today! ????
Dinoto Karate Center
127 Ark Road
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054
Website: www.DinotoKarate.com/web-special
Call: (856) 235-0414
Email: DinotoKarate@gmail.com
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